


Journey through West High

by MelonMass



Category: Xī yóu jì | Journey to the West - Wú Cheng'en
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Asexual Character, Bullies, But there are kinda still demons, Demisexual Character, Highschool isn't fun, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, More tags later, Multi, Pansexual Character, Questioning character, Trans Male Character, Trans Wukong, Tripitaka has two moms, White Dragon is a smol dragon, complicated family situations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-01-29 05:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 15,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12624450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelonMass/pseuds/MelonMass
Summary: West High School had more than it's far share of myths and legends. People tend to just brush it off, but these stories have more to them than meets the eye.Tripitaka came to his new school expecting to spend the next few years just get by. He never really expected to make friends. Let alone fight monsters.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Since this fandom us pretty small, I decided I might as well be the first one to write the highschool au cliche. Except with a few not so cliche details. Gonna take inspiration from several different adaptations. If you have any ideas, let me know. I hope you enjoy!

Tripitaka was incredibly nervous. He double and triple checked his bag to make sure he had everything he needed. He almost choked on his breakfast twice. As his mum drove him to school, he couldn't stop fiddleling with the buttons on his shirt.

Today was his first day at a new school. The first day of his sophomore year. Tripitaka was starting a month later than everyone else. He was going to stand out more than he hoped, and in his experience, that was a bad thing.

As they pulled up to the front of the school, his mum smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, sweetheart," she spoke, squeezing his shoulder. "This will be a lot better than your old school, I promise."

Tripitaka tried to smile back with as much reassurance. "I know," he said, opening the car door. "Ma's gonna pick me up, right?"

His mum nodded. As he got out of the car, she called out, "Remember to have fun! And make some friends!" Tripitaka nodded and closed the car door. He took a deep breath. _You can do this._

Tripitaka started walking through front doors of the school. First, he needed to get his schedule. He walked into the office and to the front desk. The woman sitting there was typing something on a computer. 

"H-hello?" Tripitaka called, grabbing her attention. "I'm a new student. I need to get my schedule." 

"You'll need to see the guidance counselor, then." The woman pointed to a hallway behind her. "She's down that way. Third door on the left. Can't miss it." 

Tripitaka thanked her and started walking down the hallway. _Third door on the left. Third door on the left..._ He came to a door with the words MS. GUANYIN GUIDANCE COUNSELOR printed in large bold letters. He took a deep breath and opened the door. 

The room was slightly smaller than his own room at home. There was a desk near the far end of the room. There were two chairs in front of the desk and another in the corner of the room. A watercolor painting of a chinese dragon was framed on the wall. Tripitaka noticed there were two people in the room. 

A boy around his age was reading a book in the chair in the corner. He had tanned skin and messy, dark brown hair. He wore a black jacket and a crimson shirt. His jeans were faded with a single tear at the knee. The boy's emerald eyes only left his book for a few seconds when Tripitaka opened the door. 

A woman was sitting behind the desk. She must have been Ms. Guanyin. She had a pale face and black hair pulled back in a bun. She wore a plain white blouse. When Tripitaka opened the door, she looked up and smiled kindly at him. 

"Come in! Come in!" Ms. Guanyin gestured the the empty chairs in front of her. "Please have a seat. You are the new student, yes?" 

"Y-yes, ma'am." Tripitaka carefully closed the door behind him. "I need my schedule. M-my name is Tripitaka Tang." He sat down in one of the chairs and set his bag down on the floor beside him. 

"Of course!" She shuffled through a drawer behind her desk. "Your locker number and combination will be on there as well. You will need to stay after school sometime this week to get your textbooks." Ms. Guanyin handed him a piece of paper. 

"Wukong?" The boy in the corner looked up from his book. "Please show Mr. Tang around a bit before his first class starts." 

The boy -- Wukong -- wordlessly put his book in his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He started walking towards the door. Tripitaka quickly thanked the guidance counselor for her help, grabbed his things, and followed after him. Wukong turned to him. "Hand me your schedule." 

"What? Oh," Tripitaka handed the boy the paper Ms. Guanyin had given him. Wukong looked over the paper for a few seconds. 

"So...," he started, "you're a sophomore, too?" 

"Y-yeah." Tripitaka remembered his mum's request for him to make friends. "I'm guessing you're a sophomore, then?" 

Wukong began walking. Tripitaka followed. "You're actually in a few of my classes." Upon seeing Tripitaka's hopeful expression, he continued, "But unless you're looking to get alienated by every other social clique, I wouldn't try making friends with an outcast." 

The pair passed by boy who shouted after them, "Hey, Miss Sunshine! Finally find a boyfriend?" Wukong casually displayed his middle figure to the boy until they rounded a corner. 

"That could be your life," Wukong warned. "Or they might just completely ignore you. You never really know." 

"I've dealt with worse," Tripitaka answered honestly. "Kinda always been an outcast." 

Wukong laughed. He must have thought it was some kind of joke. "You've gotta be pretty tough, then. Like a badass." Wukong flashed him a smile. Tripitaka laughed. 

"I'd hardly say that." _Was this what making friends was like?_

The bell rang, and Wukong grabbed onto his wrist. "C'mon, we have the same first period. I'll show you where the uncool kids sit." 

Tripitaka knew he tended to trust people too easily. He knew people could and would take advantage of that when given the chance. He knew it could just take one thing, one simple thing about himself, and he could be left behind in the dust. But as Wukong pulled him through crowded hallways, Tripitaka smiled. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A list is made and bullies are delt with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did this take so long to write? Ah yes. Finals. Anyway, I hope this chapter is enjoyable!

West High was a cliched high school with the usual social cliques. There were jocks, preps, nerds. In Wukong's personal opinion, the best thing to be at this school was an outcast. Outcasts were the only people who kept it realy. No fake friends, no fake personalities. You didn't get anybody trying to shove there nose into you business.

But there was one thing in particular that made outcasts the best clique in West High: after school activities. Guanyin knew were to find outcasts, and the woman knew how to put them to use. They all had something. Something invisible to the human eye.

This kid, what did he have? He starts school a month late. He comes in wearing a button up shirt and brown slacks. He stuttered every so often, yet tried to crack jokes. He doesn't even try to reject the outcast status.

This guy--Tripitaka couldn't be a fighter. He seemed to have been quick to trust Wukong, and made no objections to being pulled by the wrist through the halls. Guys like that had big hearts. Guys like that were rarely fighters.

Wukong didn't let go of his wrist until they were in the classroom. He showed Tripitaka to an empty desk in the back of the class next to his own. Other kids were staring. He'd flip them off, but the teacher was also staring. The guy already thought Wukong was some kind of delinquent.

When class started, the teacher made Tripitaka stand up and introduce himself. Throughout his whole introduction, Tripitaka fiddled with the end of his shirt, and his face was flushed. Poor guy. The rest of class went on like normal.

Wukong kept finding himself glancing towards Tripitaka. There was definitely an aura about him. And his scent...What was that? It was hard to tell from this distance, but it Tripitaka smelled of something sweet, earthy, and pure. Did that have anything to do with any of this? Or was it just....

Wukong snapped his attention away from the boy. No. None of that. You just met him like 20 minutes ago. Now's not the time to get lost in his scent.

The bell rang, and Wukong couldn't be more grateful. He gave Tripitaka a quick run down of where his next classes were until the next one they shared with each other. This class had his friend Bajie. "Pretty girl crazy, but he's still a cool bro." These classes had his other friend Wujing. "Kinda quiet, but you'll have a pretty deep conversation with him if you get him talking."

With a promise to meet up a few classes from now,  the two parted ways. Wukong didn't feel too worried about Tripitaka. His friends and fellow outcasts would take care of him. Bajie might take some getting used to, sure, but he wouldn't scare the guy away. Besides, the others could help him figure that guy out.

There weren't any other Outcasts in his next class, so Wukong had time to think things over. That kid wasn't a fighter, that much he could tell. He seemed to be a bit more emotionally fragile than most people. Like it wouldn't be that hard to make him upset and cry. And yet, Guanyin thought he was gonna fit in perfectly with them.

Wukong wasn't doubting her judgement, oh no. She hasn't been wrong about anything yet. If Guanyin thought Tripitaka would fit in with them, then he'd fit in with them. Wukong just had trouble figuring out exactly how. Maybe it'd be easier if he made a list? Wukong tore a blank page out of his notebook and wrote a few things down.

_Tripitaka_  
Not a fighter  
Softy  
Been through worse than name calling  
Upset easily?  
Strange aura 

What else? That couldn't be all he knew so far, could it?

_Smells nice????_

He didn't even know if that had any connection, but he wrote it down anyway. He'd have to hide the list from anyone else. Bajie would never let him forget "smells nice" as long as they both lived. Wukong folded the paper and put it in the pocket of his jeans. He probably wouldn't take it out again for quite some time.

He was on his way to his third class of the day when an arm suddenly wrapped around his shoulders and a hand ruffled his hair. "Bro! I haven't seen you all morning!"

"Bajie!" Wukong grabbed his friend's wrist and yanked his hand away from his hair. "I was this close to throwing you across the hallway." Desprite his harsh words, Wukong was smiling.

Bajie laughed. "You would risk putting me in the hospital, would you?" Bajie pulled mock puppy dog face. "I'm your bestest bwo."

Wukong shoved his shoulder, and they both laughed. The two boys continued on to their next class. "By the way, I met that new kid Guanyin told us about."

Wukong looked at him seriously. "What do you think? About him I mean."

Bajie shrugged. "He seems like a completely normal guy." Wukong frowned. He was hoping for more. "But hey, Sandy seemed pretty normal when we first met him, remember? Bet they'd get along."

Wukong laughed at the memory. The two continued chatting as they walked into class. During class, Wukong discreetly pulled out his list.

_Seems normal_

Next class he shared with Tripitaka. Wukong had to admit (though only to himself) that his heart was pounding. He didn't know if it was from excitement or anxiety. Wukong had told Tripitaka to wait for him in a less crowded part of the halls, where students rarely walked by. Hopefully he wouldn't run into anyone looking for trouble.

"C'mon newbie." Wukong froze. That came from around the corner. "I just wanna show you the ropes." Jocks. New kid. The less crowded hallway was a mistake, wasn't it? Wukong silently peeked his head around the corner.

There was a large jock wearing a varsity jacket. He had on a gross crooked smirk. Wasn't he that one football player he's heard some senior girls rave about? What was his name again? Brad or something? Didn't matter, not now.

There was Tripitaka, backed into the wall, the jock's hand was on the wall next to him. He...didn't really look scared at all. He didn't look intimidating either, mind you. But everything about Tripitaka in this moment just read...utter calm and indifference. But not completely, no. Wukong could sense his fear strongly. _How the hell?_

"Someone's gotta teach ya how this place really runs." _Screw you Brad._

"No thanks." _Holy shit._ Wukong's heart stopped. How did Tripitaka manage to say that so calm and firm? "I all ready have a friend for that." Friend. _Friend._ They're friends! And Wukong is for some reason still standing there watching the scene play out.

Almost too quickly, Wukong jumped out from the corner and rushed to Tripitaka. "Hey Tripitaka I was looking for you we need to get to our next class." He was talking way too fast. He'd be surprised if anyone could understand him right now. Wukong grabbed Tripitaka by the wrist and started speed walking away.

That was _way_ less calm and casual than he wanted it to be. That was not how he wanted Tripitaka to think he handled those situations. Especially with the way the boy was handling it himself. Wukong could feel his pulse on his wrist. It was quick, probably with adrenaline and fear.

"Hey, um...thanks," Tripitaka spoke. "I thought he was gonna start a fight or something..."

"No problem." Of course. This kid was no fighter. He wasn't meant to be. Wukong didn't know why he was so certain of that, but it was true. But Wukong was. He knew how to fight, and would gladly do so when needed.

Wukong was gonna protect Tripitaka. Until one of them died or Tripitaka got sick of, hell, even if he did, Wukong would protect him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunch time. How gay are you? Oh geez.

Lunch. Not since preschool has Tripitaka ever experienced a school lunch period that was anything but loud and chaotic. If you couldn't find a quiet spot alone or a table with friends, you might as well eat in the hallway or the bathroom.

Tripitaka was gripping tightly to the vegetarian lunch his mum had packed him in one hand. His other hand, or rather, his other arm, was being pulled by Wukong. It seemed this was going to be a normal occurrence. Not that he minded. After all, Duan would-

_No. No, don't think about it. Not right now._

Wukong carefully pulled him around tables full of noisy teens. In the corner, furthest away from the door, was a table empty save for two occupants. One was a plump boy with bleached blond hair, Bajie, who he had met in one of his earlier classes. The other was a lanky boy covered in freckles with a huge puff of red hair. This was probably the Wujing he'd been hearing about.

The two boys seemed to be occupied by something on the table when Tripitaka and Wukong approached. Tripitaka realized it was a pile of snacks such as granola bars, fruit gummies, snacks, and juice boxes. Where could they have gotten such a collection?

"Hey guys," Wukong greeted. He sat down at the table, pulling Tripitaka into a seat next to him. Oh, right. Wukong was still holding onto his wrist. He didn't let go until both of them were seated. He woundered if the others noticed it.

Bajie looked up from the pile of snacks. "Oh, hey," he greeted. He jabbed a thumb at the red-head next to him. "Wujing forgot to bring his own lunch. Again."

Wujing roled his eyes. "You do know they're selling food not even 10 yards away from us right now?"

"SCHOOL LUNCH IS SHIT, AND YOU KNOW IT!" Bajie practically threw a bag of chips at him "EAT, SANDY! EAT!"

Wujing fumbled to catch the chips. Wukong chuckled. "Feed the Sandman!" What was with the references to sand?

Wujing was staring right at Tripitaka now. It was slightly unnerving. "I like beaches," he spoke, answering the unspoken question. He stuck his hand out across the table towards Tripitaka. "My name's Wujing. Sometimes I go by Sandy. Hi."

Tripitaka shook the boy's hand. "I'm Tripitaka." Wujing nodded, and relaxed back into his seat. He opened the bag of chips and slowly began to eat them. Bajie clapped his together. "Alright! Our Sandman has been fed! And so," he gestured to the pile of packaged foods and juice pouches on the table. "Snack Stash in now open!"

Wukong immediately grabbed a box of some sort of peach flavored juice. As he sipped on the straw, he looked at Tripitaka expectantly. He looked almost like a child. A sweet, adorable child.

"I - uh," Tripitaka stammered, sheepishly pulling out his packed lunch, "No thanks, I'm good." Wukong didn't look as disappointed as Tripitaka expected. He just shrugged and grabbed a chocolate chip granola bar.

Tripitaka started emptying his lunch sack. Herbal tea, sandwich and a cookie. All of it homemade and homegrown by his mum. From the blend of the tea to the bread of the sandwich. Mum was probably a hippie, or so he'd been told.

Wujing pulled put a book from his bag. Bajie elbowed him, to which Wujing shot a glare in his direction. "Mrs. Jean hates reading," he saod sternly. "I am reading as much as I can before I have to suffer."

"I - I think she's my next class?" Tripitaka stammered. He swore he remembered seeing that name on his schedule after his lunch period.

"Oh, great. We can suffer together," Wujing stated nonchalantly. Wukong wrinkled his nose. Did he have this teacher another class period? Just how bad was she?

Bajie, seemingly trying to change the subject, mumbled something out through the food in his mouth. Wukong narrowed his eyes. "I swear, if you just asked what I think you just asked..."

Tripitaka was confused. "Um, what?"

Bajie swallowed his food. He lean forward. "So, Tripitaka, on a scale of 1-10," he smirked deviously, "how gay are you?"

Tripitaka sputtered nervously, face feeling hot. Wukong slammed his head on the table. Wujing turned a page in his book and cleared his throat. "Wow, that's some real casual conversation right there."

Bajie laughed. "Are you serious? You came out right after you said hi!"

Wujing shrugged. "'Hi I'm Ace' is better than 50 chapters leading up to a coming out party." He turned a page. "You could do so much better than 'scale of 1 - 10.'"

"So you want us to be incredibly blunt about it?"

"OH MY GOD!" Wukong whisper-screamed and shot straight up. He gestured to himself "Pan" then to Wujing "Ace af" finally to Bajie "Questioning."

"Hey, I am straight with exceptions!"

He should give some sort of response, shouldn't he? But felt so nervous about it. Still, Tripitaka gestured to himself and stammered out, "D-demi."

Bajie tilted his head to the side. "What does that mean exactly?" Of course, they probably didn't know what that was.

"I'll tell you later," Wujing offered, turned another page of his book. "Also, Wukong, no one's outing you. Calm down. We have 5 minutes left of lunch time chill."

Bajie's eyes brighted. "Oh! We should totally swap numbers!" He pulled out a piece of paper and started ripping it into 4 pieaces. "I promise 'scale of 1 - 10' won't be the first thing I text you."

Tripitaka wrote out his phone number, while the three other boys each of theirs on a piece of paper. Wujing even managed to write his without taking his eyes away from his book. When the bell rang, Wujing closed his book with a sigh. "Welp, time for hell. You're in there too, right Tripitaka?"

"Uh, Mrs. Jean. Yeah." Wujing got up and walked around the table. Tripitaka got up to follow him, waving goodbye to the other two boys. Wujing was silent as they walked.

"So, uh," Tripitaka thought for something to break the silence. "Any tips on how to handle Mrs. Jean?"

"Use big words. She'll act like use knows what you mean, but she doesn't know shit. A real shit English teacher." Wujing didn't even turn to face him. Well there went that idea. "Also, she'll say some shit about helping you making at least one friend in the class. Tell her I'm already your friend, she'll go mad."

Wujing chuckled. He then abruptly turned towards Tripitaka. "Were you guys holding hands when you showed up?"

Tripitaka sputtered and blushed. _Oh geez._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sandy's a bit sassier than I originally planned. I think I love it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bajie get bored. Wukong will never live this down

Bajie was bored. Things were quiet after the school day. Since when did things get this quiet? He sat at a desk in an empty classroom. Sandy and Wukong looking over some book.

Ok, it was an important book, but Bajie was booooooored. Why couldn't some demon or something reak havoc? If anything, he could at least watch Wukong kick ass.

Bajie pulled out his phone, searching for some kind of entertainment. He needed to add the new kid to his contacts anyway. He paused before turning on the device. A smile creeped onto his face. He knew what to do.

"I'm gonna add that Trip guy to the group chat."

Wukong immediately whipped his head towards Bajie. "Why!?" he demanded.

Bajie smirked. "Why not?" He made a show of tapping on the blank screen.

Wukong leaped for the phone. Bajie kept it out of reach. Laughing, he leaned back as far as he could against the sidebar of the desk. "Why so against it, Wukong?" The desk creeked. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say-"

Suddenly, Bajie felt the desk tilting back. Before he could react, Wukong snatched the phone. He lept back, and Baije and the desk fell to the floor.

_Ow_

He pushed himself off the floor slightly, leaning back on his palm. His other hand gripped onto a folded piece of paper. Now, what was on this paper from Wukong's pocket? He was willing to bet it was poetry again.

Bajie stood up off the ground. He looked to make sure Wukong wasn't looking. Of course, he was too busy trying to figure out the phone. Sandy was looking at Bajie with a brow cocked upwards, a look that said "you gave up rather quick, what are you up to?"

Bajie grinned deviously. He pointed at the folded paper, at Wukong, then back at the paper. He gave a look that he hoped said "place your bets now." Sandy huffed and rolled his eyes, but still smiled. He lightly tapped a spiral notebook.

So, Sandy's betting class notes. _Alright, let's see here..._ Bajie unfolded the paper carefully and began reading.....wait....WAIT..

"SMELLS NICE!?!" Bajie broke out in laughter. Wukong looked at him with horror. "YOU THINK TRIPITAKA SMELLS NICE!?!" Wukong face grew red. He was BLUSHING. Oh, this was just too good. "Wait, wait, do you have a _crush_? On someone you just met today?"

"No!" Wukong's voice squeaked. "I'm just trying to figure him out, you know!" Oh, he was making this too easy. But Bajie was no bully. There was no need to push him any further.

Bajie began folding the paper back up. "I'll trade you this back for my phone."

Wukong imediately stuck out a hand holding the phone. "Deal." So the two traded. Wukong pocketed the paper, and Bajie checked his phone for anything Wukong actually managed to look through.

"You know, a small notebook may be more efficient for lists like that."

_Aaaaaand another smooth delivery from the Sandman!_

"Smells nice" Oh, Wukong was never going to live that down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: School myths and bitchy chicks.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School myths are mentioned. Wujing goes to the library. Some believers make some moves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whenever I see a sweet comment, my heart bubbles up with happiness. Aw, you guys! :)

**Me:**  
I bet you haven't heard any of the school myths yet

Wujing figured he might as well tell the guy about them now. Granted, he wouldn't go into too much detail about it yet. Just give him as ruff an idea as he'd get from gossip around the halls.

**Me:**  
Some of them are really crazy

Wujing had decided to text Tripitaka as he was getting ready for school that morning. He got up pretty early, being one of the first kids to arrive at school. The new kid probably wasn't going to be up yet. But this way, could read his book without worrying about doing it later.

He was in the car with his dad when he got a text back.

**Tripitaka:**  
How crazy?

**Me:**  
"Water from specific fountain will magically turn you pregnant" crazy

That was an okay one to start with, right? Probably. Should he have mentioned the "anti-preggers water fountain" that went with it? Or the fact they weren't drinking fountain, but the fountains in front of the school? Naaaah, it'd be fine. He gave enough info.

**Tripitaka:**  
Oh  
Guess i was expecting ghosts something

**Me:**  
Well there is the Demon Club myth

The car pulled up to the front of the school. Wujing waved goodbye to his dad and entered the building. He immediately went towards the school library. As usual, he was the the first student to walk in. Noone else really came here this early. 

Wujing walked to the book shelves in the corner of the library. It was generally out of sight of the librarians and any of the security cameras. There were a few envelopes smushed between two books. Ah, people sure did love that myth.

He pulled out the letters, as well as one of the books the were between. _The Third Eye by Lois Duncan._ It'd been a while since he read this one. Wujing put the letters in his backpack and brought the book to the counter.

A few kids were starting to gather by one of the tables. They were staring at him and whispering all while Wujing checked out the book and sat at a table. He caught a few choice phrases like "demon club" "steal book" and "try to seduce him."

Ah, so this was a group of strong myth believers. He suspected some might try to steal the book if they saw it. However, _seduction_? That was unexpected. The two tables were even in plain view of the librarian. It might actually be funny to see them try. He opened the book and began reading. _Let the games begin._

Wujing was a master if splitting his attention. He could read his book while still being aware of his surrandings. It was useful when he'd read and walk, dancing effortlessly around students trying to trip him. So the girl now walking like a wannabe model towards him was no distraction.

The girl undid the top few buttons of her blouse once she stopped in front of him. Wujing kept reading.

The girl leaned forward, both hands on the table. Trying to show off the boobs, eh? Nope, not interested. Wujing continued with his reading. Oh look, Karen let Tim in the house. That definitely won't turn out bad.

"Hello there handsome~" the girl purred. Seriously? What a terrible way a start off your "subtle" flirtation. Couldn't she think of _anything_ more creative?

"Reading."

The girl sat down on the table, not at _on_. She had part off her leg up and was trying to pull her skirt up to show it off. "Don't be like that, sweatheart." She leaned forward on the table, trying to get close to his face. "You know, the library bathrooms are one room. Reeeeaaally private.~"

The librarian stood up, about to walk over. Wujing spoke up loudly, "I'm not straight, please leave me alone." The girl leaned back suddenly. She quietly got off the table and went back to her group. The librarian smiled at him and sat back down.

Wujing had a feeling that this wasn't the end of this, but went on reading. Harsh whispers came from the other table. "I ain't doing anything with 'im!" Oh. Ohohohoho, this was gonna be priceless! Wujing almost cracked a smile.

A boy walk towards him from the group. Wujing kept reading. Oh no, Bobby's gone missing. The boy placed a hand on the table and leaned on it. "Uh, hey there....good...lookin'!" Wujing almost laughed. Why send in the _straight guy_ to flirt with him!?!

"Busy."

"A little birdie told me you...uh....play for the other team?"

"I'm not gay. Please leave me alone." Oh, there's Tripitaka at the door to the library. Perfect timing.

The boy let out a sigh of relief. "So you are straight, then."

"Nope." Tripitaka seemed unsure about whether to walk over or not.

The boy made a confused face. "But....you aren't gay?"

"Correct." It appeared Tripitaka decided to watch from the door way. That was fine.

Another girl from their table marched over and slammed her hands down. "Boys or Girls! Which do you like?"

"Neither."

"You have to like one!" The girl shook her head. "Whatever! You can't have that book! Or Demon Club will steal everyone's souls!"

Seriously? "No they won't." Did the rumors really get that crazy?

"Demon Club needs that to get their letters! Maybe you're scared they'll find out about something you did." She said they last with a smirk. Wujing kept a straight face.

"You mean the letters Ms. Guanyin has someone collect everyday?"

They girl's smile dropped. She ripped the book out of his hands, only for it to be taken for her hands by the librarian. Oh, she didn't even notice they were there! The girl was stunned.

"I need to ask you and your friends to leave." The girl and the boy tried to interject, but the librarian silenced them. "You're lucky I don't send you to the principal's office for bullying this young man. Or get you expelled for sexual harassment." Everyone from their table paled. They got up and left, passing by Tripitaka nervously watching the scene.

Tripitaka hesitantly made his way over to Wujing and the libraian. "That lot is always scaring everyone else away. I wish they weren't so obsessed with that Demon Club myth!" The librarian walked back to her desk.

"U-um," Tripitaka stuttered. "What's Demon Club."

"Demon hitmen," Wujing answered without missing a beat. "Kids put letters for them between these books for them. Ms. Guanyin has someone collect them." Wujing gestured for Tripitaka to take a seat. Tripitaka seated himself in a chair next to him.

"So, it's just a myth then, right?"

Wujing shrugged. "Eh, I've seen stranger things in this school."

 

 

"By the way, Bajie keeps texting me to make sure you ate?"

_Shit._ He forgot breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Body issues and blood.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has bad days. It's fine, though. Besides, there's work to be done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has been saying how cute this fic is, and here we have the first bit of angst. Honestly kinda nervous about how folks will react to this.

They say that it's normal for kids his age to have body issues. They say the it's okay to have bad days. They say that sometimes bad days just happen. They say he learn how to deal with it someday. Screw them. He was still gonna gripe and complain about.

Wukong rethought that idea for a moment. No, he wouldn't truely and honestly express his suffering today. It was Tripitaka's second day at the school. That's way too soon to start ranting to him about this shit. Maybe after a few more weeks. Or months. Or maybe never, Wukong would be fine with never.

Just lay low, act cool, and no one would notice. Except maybe Bajie, but they'd know each other since middle school. They were familiar enough for Bajie to joking throw chocolate at his face when this kind of shit happened.

Somehow, Tripitaka gets some sort of idea that something might be wrong. He asks as they walk to their second class together, "Are you alright?"

Wukong tries to think of what gave him away. Was he not walking as confident as he thought he was? Did he forget to put on a cocky smile? Was he scratching at his wrist again? He used to do that all the time when he was upset or anxious.

It would have been easier if Wukong to just deny, to smile and say that nothing was wrong. But...new friendship shouldn't be built on lies, right? He speaks over his shoulder, "It's nothing. I...I'll tell you about it another time."

The answer manages to quiet Tripitaka for the time being. Wukong basically just promised to confess this shit to him later. Hopefully later would take a while to get here. He didn't have time to think about it. There was a lot of club work to be done this week.

At lunch time, Bajie's stash had a larger array of chocolate flavored items. He didn't need to go crazy with the chocolate. But Wukong tosses a few chocolate snack cakes into his bag anyway. It's still good to have some to sneak in math class.

"So maaaaybe it wasn't a good idea to disproove school myths for them," Wujing said, sharing events from this morning. "But I wasn't gonna just let them think you have to be attracted to someone."

"A book would seduce you better than they ever could," Bajie joked. Wujing gently caressed the side of his book.

"Oh, darling," he spoke. "How the light bounces off your pristine pages."  Bajie sputtered holding in laughter. Wujing held up his book. "And your words! Oh how they dance!"

Bajie broke out laughing. Wukong snickered. Tripitaka laughed softly. He had a nice laugh. And his smile was pretty nice, too. Later, Wukong added that to the Trip List, as he now called it.

_Pretty smile/laugh_

God, now that was definitely something to not let Bajie see. Not after what happened yesterday. That was yet another thing he didn't have time to think about. There was work to be done.

Two more classes, and the school day was over. Math wasn't that bad. The teacher let him eat snacks, even though it was just after lunch. There weren't any careless idiots. He dropped something out of his bag, and it was returned quietly without a fuss. One or two people may have tucked similar items in Wukong's bag when he wasn't looking. It was fine.

Gym was what ended the day. Normally, he'd be a bit more excited, but not on a day like this. As luck would have it, this West High separated gym classes mostly by grade level, and a lot sophomores and juniors got gym as the last class of the day. All four outcasts included.

Wukong would change in the toilet stalls of the bathroom like allways. It was fine. He could ignore the mirror heading in on a day like today. He could avoid Tripitaka in the locker room. It was fine. He's not gonna look like a weirdo or anything.

He changed out of his shirt, jeans, binder. He shouldn't have the need that. It's fine, though. He changed into gym clothes, made sure his underwear were not and would not be stained. He shouldn't need to check that. It's fine, though.

As Wukong steps out of the stoll, he catches himself in the mirror. Of course, it just had to be right across from the stolls, didn't it? There he is, in his black gym shorts, his red t-shirt. The tight sports bra it covers. He cringes at that word.

Bras aren't for boys. He shouldn't have to wear one for gym and club. But it. Was. FINE.

Wukong tore his eyes away from his reflection. He didn't have time for this insecure nonsense. There was work to be done.

 

At the end of the day, Bajie gave him enough chocolate snacks to last a week, Wujing put extra effort in dishing out "business as usual" humor, and Tripitaka had sent multiple pictures of cutesy animals. Honestly, these guys were the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Locked in a closet and.... what the hell is THAT!?!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tripitaka gets locked in a closet. He can handle that just fine. It's all this other stuff that gives him trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been writing a lot these past few days.

It was Wednesday, and Tripitaka was supposed to get his textbooks this afternoon. Ma told him she'd pick him up about an hour after school ended, giving him time to check out clubs he was interested in. Unfortunately, someone had pushed him in a closet not long after school ended.

Here was Tripitaka Tang, locked in a sports closet. Believe it or not, this wasn't an uncommon occurrence at his old school. Calmly, he began to consider his options. Jiggling the doorknob confirmed what he thought: the door was locked. Making noise and pounding at the door could draw the attention of either a teacher or another bully.

Tripitaka still had his cellphone, but who would he call for help? Certainly not his mothers, oh no. Maybe the three closest thing to friends he had in this school? But he had no idea if the were still in the building or busy with a club.

Tripitaka used his phone as a flashlight to investigate the doorknob further. There didn't seem to be a place to put a key, so picking the lock was out. Maybe...

Yes! The screws attaching the doorknob to the door were exposed. There were screw drivers in his lockpicking kit! He could get them off no problem! Tripitaka felt relieved that he wouldn't have the resort to hitting the doorknob with a bat in hopes in breaks.

He dug through his bag and pulled out his box of tools. Tripitaka quickly got to work on the door. He couldn't risk the bully coming back with reinforcements and/or some method of humiliation. The doorknob took about 5 minutes to remove. That's probably a record for him.

Cautiously, Tripitaka cracked open the door. Didn't seem to be anyone around, so that's good. He put his tools back in his bag and completely exited the closet. Now, time to get his textbooks. Where was he supposed to go for that again?

Tripitaka began slowly making his way through the hallways. He was sure he walked by the textbook room at somepoint between classes. He came up an intersection and heard a commotion down one of the halls. He stopped. What was that?

Tripitaka turned towards the source of the noise, and saw zooming towards him a...WHAT THE FFFFFFFffffffff.... Okay, so there's a Chinese dragon, like from one of Mum's paintings, big enough to fill up most of the hallway. The creature had sped down the hallway then stopped a mere two feet away from his face.

This...this was fine, right? Weren't dragons supposed to be good luck right? It was staring at him with an expression he couldn't read. Was...was it gonna eat him? No! No, Chinese dragons don't eat people. He was at least 85% sure of it.

From one of the other hallways, he could hear a voice and rapid footsteps approaching. "...you lizard! Someone's gonna-" Skidding around a corner came...Wukong? He was holding some sort of staff. Did he have a tail?

The two boys stared at each other for a few moments. Tripitaka suddenly felt hot breath on his face and neck. He tensed up. Oh, oh geez. The dragon had gotten closer to him, and it was...sniffing him?

"Shit," Wukong cursed. He held his staff behind him and ever so slowly began to make his way over. "Uh, don't worry! He's completely harmless!"

Hesitantly, Tripitaka reached a hand out towards the creature. "Uh, n-nice dragon?"

The dragon sniffed his hand. Ok, so far so good. The dragon opened it's mouth and Tripitaka completely froze. OK, IT'S BITING HIS HAND NOW!! AND IT DOESN'T HURT NEARLY AS BAD AS HE'D EXPECT!! WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!

Wukong cursed and broke into a run. The dragon, noticing this, released Tripitaka's hand from it's jaws. With a poof, it turned into a much smaller version of itself and zipped down Tripitaka's shirt collar. Oh geez. It was crawling around under his shirt. That was not pleasant.

Wukong skidded to a stop next to Tripitaka. The boy studied him with concern. Tripitaka, getting a better look, found that Wukong did indeed have a long, furry tail coming out of his lower back. The sound of more hurried footsteps sounded from a hallway.

"How...are you...sooooooooo....." Bajie trailed off. He stood agape in the hallway. He...he has pig ears? Wujing stood behind him. His hair was covered in sand and coming out of the side of his face were...those...those look like fish fins?

The mini dragon decided at that moment to poke it's head out of Tripitaka's shirt. The four boy gazed between each other. Tripitaka trying to find some kind of answer, and the others probably to figure out who will start explaining first. Wujing was the one to break the silence.

"So, uh," he faultered for a moment, "Welcome to Demon Club?"

Well, then. Guess the school myths are true?.....

"...what the hell..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You didn't think this would be just a normal highschool, did you?  
> Next time: Anxious monkey and explanations


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wukong is trying his best to explain things to Tripitaka and take care of that troublemaking dragon. He just really doesn't want to completely mess up this social interaction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been thinking of making a discord server for Journey to the West. Would anyone be interested?

Wukong was anxious. His tail twitched every so often. Three days. Tripitaka found out about the Demon Club stuff after being there for a mere threes days. It took Wujing a week at least, and he was pretty smart. Tripitaka, by what he could only guess was pure chance, had found out after just three days.

Wujing had offered an uncertain "Welcome to Demon Club," to which Tripitaka responded with a barely audible "what the hell." Wukong didn't think the guy could curse at all. He had to think of something to say. Anything that could offer some kind of explanation.

The dragon was staring at him from Tripitaka's shirt. Oh, that smug little bastard. He's probably thinking he won his little game of chase. Oh, that dirty little- Wait, of course! The dragon!

"Hey, uh-" Wukong began to approach Tripitaka. The dragon zipped into the cover of Tripitaka's shirt. "Let's take care of that dragon, yeah?" He carefully grabbed onto Tripitaka's wrist and pulled him down the hall. He looked back over his shoulder to see if Bajie and Wujing would follow.

"Uuhh...," Bajie nervously looked around. He looked at the floor behind him and Wujing. "Hey, Sandy! Look! You got sand all over the floor! We should totally get that cleaned up!" Of frickin' course. Looks like those two weren't gonna help with any explainations.

Wukong continued to guide Tripitaka through the hallways. "We just gotta take him back to his fountain," he explained. God, he hoped that was all they needed to do. The dragon had never jumped into someone's clothes before. He never really stopped in front of someone while playing a game of chase, either.

"Does, um..," Tripitaka started. Wukong paused to look back at him. "Does he have a name?"

Wukong chewed on his cheek. His tail curled in thought. He remembered the dragon's name was written in Chinese in the fountain, and he's pretty sure someone had read it to him at some point. "Yeah, um...I think it was... Bailong or something?"

The dragon peeked out from Tripitaka's shirt collar. "So...Bailong?" Tripitaka echoed. He ever so slowly brought a finger towards the dragon. It suddenly twisted its head towards the finger, and Tripitaka froze up, trembling slightly. Oh yeah, it bit his hand earlier. He's probably still kinda freaking out over that.

A sound started to reach his ears. Squeaky wheels. Whistling. The custodian. Frick! "We have to hide." Tripitaka came out of his fear induced stupor. Wukong dragged him into a nearby room and swiftly closed the door behind them. "Custodian," Wukong explained.

"H-hey, um," Tripitaka stammered. Wukong looked towards him, and notice the boy was looking at his tail. "You...you, uh..."

"Monkey tail, yeah." Wukong thought for a moment about how to best explain this. "I, uh, won't be able to make it go away for a bit of a while?"

That wasn't a good explaination. Not for what Tripitaka was trying to ask. "Does that...happen often?" At least he asked another question rather than demand better answer.

"Well, uh," Wukong's tail curled and twisted uncomfortably. "I kinda, decide to transform, then I get cool powers and a tail. But I can't really turn back for like an hour?" That was probably one of his best explanations yet.

"Are the others like that?" Tripitaka seemed to have unknowingly brought his hand closer to where the dragon was poking his head out of his shirt. It stared at his hand very intently.

"Pretty much," Wukong answered. "Guanyin says we were probably demons or spirits in our past lives. I have relatives that have the monkey thing, too." Wow, "the monkey thing." What a great thing to call it.

Wukong listened carefully through the door. The sounds of the custodian seemed to be retreating. It should be safe for them to continue on their way. Of course, it was that moment that Bailong chose to gently nom on Tripitaka's finger.

Now, there wasn't really any worry about the dragon's teeth. He was still practically a baby after all. Heck, he's bitten Wukong's tail plenty of times. The problem here was that Tripitaka was now mildly freaking out. You know, in that way were he's still except for slight shaking, and he's making some sort of worried whine.

Wukong scrambled to calm the boy. "It's okay. It's okay!" He reached for the dragon. If he's quick enough, he might even manage to pull the dragon out of Tripitaka's shirt. But of course, the dragon notices him. It released Tripitaka's finger and escaped back into his shirt.

Tripitaka inspected his hand carefully, probably looking for damages. "See," Wukong offered, "I told you he was harmless, didn't I?" He chuckled nervously. "He bites me all the time."

Wukong didn't exactly know how to continue conversation from there, nor if he should continue it. He opened the door to the room. He held it open with his back and scratched at his wrist absent-mindedly. Tripitaka was rubbing at the bitten hand.

"T...textbooks..." Tripitaka said slowly. "I...I was supposed to get textbooks today..."

Thank God, a change of subject. "I could show you were the textbook room is after we take care of that dragon." Wukong continued to hold the door open as Tripitaka walked out. "Guess you got lost looking for it, huh?"

Tripitaka tightened his grip on his own wrist. He put on a nervous smile. Wait not nervous...melancholy? somber? Something like that. "Yeah....yeah, sure!"

Okaaaaaay. So he's hiding something, maybe? Wukong shouldn't push it, though. Everyone's allowed their secrets. Tripitaka has whatever that was, and Wukong had blood coming out of his crotch. Speaking of that, he should probably go to the bathroom at some point to check on--

Woah, woah, woah. Getting off topic here. Stay on track. The two of them were now walking in somewhat awkward silence. Wukong should probably trying starting up conversation again, right? "So, uh...when were your folks gonna pick you up?" He queried. Oh, he probably should have asked that earlier. That's a concern right there.

"My mom wanted me to check out clubs," Tripitaka said. He have a shy, warm smile. "Guess I kinda checked out one, huh?"

Wukong felt like his heart stop for a moment... Wait, why did it do that? What even? "Yeah, uh... oh, here it is! The courtyard!"

The courtyard in question wasn't exactly what one may immediately think of when hearing the word "courtyard." At least, it wasn't what Wukong would think of. It was a square, grassy area, with concrete walkways and a simple water fountain in the middle.

"So, uh..." Tripitaka shifted uncomfortably. "What do we do now?"

Wukong took a moment to consider. He didn't exactly think this far ahead. "Well..." he thought aloud, "Usually, we drag him back here and...tell him to go to his fountain?" He dragged Tripitaka a bit closer towards the fountain.

The dragon poked it's head out of Tripitaka's collor. He stared at the fountain for a full minute. "Go on, then!" Wukong tried to encourage. The dragon just glared at him, blew a raspberry at him, then retreated back into Tripitaka's shirt.

"Uuuhhh..." Tripitaka said, shifting his weight. "Guess he likes me, huh?" He laughed nervously. "Kinda wonder why..."

It's gotta be this aura he has. Yeah, the dragon prefers the somewhat divine aura of the fountain's water. He must like Tripitaka's aura. "He must like your scent." Wait. Wait NO! Wukong didn't mean to say that!

"W-what?" ABORT! ABORT! ABORT!

Wukong's face felt like it was trying to go both cold pale in horror and burning hot in embarrassment. "I - I mean your aura!" Wukong quickly thought of how to save this. He spoke quickly, "You've got this divine aura, and I can kinda smell it, especially in this form. And he probably likes your aura better than the fountain's, and, uh..." He trailed off.

"Oh..." Tripitaka felt akward now, didn't he? "Well... If it is my scent...maybe my gym clothes?" The dragon poked it's head out in curiosity. Well, it couldn't hurt to try.

Tripitaka swung his backpack off his back and in front of him. The dragon ducked back into Tripitaka's shirt and reamurged seconds later from his shirt sleeve. Wukong stepped closer to peer over the boy's shoulder.

Tripitaka opened the bag's outer pocket. Inside, his gym clothes were neatly rolled up and packed, very different from how Wukong bunched and stuffed his own gym clothes in his bag. The dragon looked from the bag to Tripitaka, then to the fountain, and finally to Wukong. He gave Wukong a long hard stare before zipping into the bag.

Tripitaka looked up at Wukong. "So...now we throw my bag in the water?" Wukong gave him a confused look. "To...get the dragon back in the fountain?"

His trail curled. "But your stuff will get wet." Wukong couldn't understand why he'd get all of his school papers and pens and gym clothes water logged just for this little trouble making lizard.

"So...I just...keep him?"

Wukong considered this for a moment. The dragon could cause a lot of trouble if it left the school. But...it did stop running amuck when it ran into Tripitaka. "I mean, if you can keep him out of trouble?" He really hoped this wouldn't end in disaster.

"W-well..." Oh, he doesn't want to have a dragon pet. Wukong's tail coiled tightly. He messed up. He messed up! "At least he's not in my shirt anymore." Tripitaka laughed nervously and zipped up the bag's outer pocket most of the way.

Wukong silently let out a sigh of relief. His tail uncoiled. "Textbooks now, right?" He offered. "We...you need to get those, yeah?"

Tripitaka put his bag back on his back. "Ok, yeah."

"Awesome." Wukong grabbed Tripitaka's wrist and turned on his heels. "Uh, this way!" With that, he guided the boy out of the courtyard.

Well, that could have gone a lot worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: One night, and Bailong already doesn't want to leave.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bailing wants to know what happened to the man that put him in the fountain in the first place. This boy has answers. He just has to make it to and through the boy's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a Journey to the West fan discord! You may have seen the link to it in the main summary of the fic. Feel free to join!

Ha ha HA! He managed to keep that stinky monkey from taking him away from his master! HAHAHA! Bailong knew the Scholar would come back for him some day! Although...he did seem different from when they last met. He seemed a bit younger, also less hairy. Humans changed over time though, right? And it had been a few decades, after all. But, didn't humans tend to look older instead of younger?

Bailong took a deep sniff of the clothes he was now tangled in. Hmm...maybe this guy wasn't exactly the Scholar, but they had to be related! Like, his brother, or maybe even his son. Surely, if he hung around this guy long enough, he'd run into the Scholar!

The bag he was in was leaving the school building. Bailing could sense it almost immediately. He felt such excitement, he could hardly keep himself still! Those buffoons never let him leave the grounds! The world was his to explore! Accompanied by this new master of his of course.

A hand pressed gently against him from outside the bag. "Shh," his new master hushed. "Try not to show yourself to my moms, ok?" Ah, yes, normal mortals now a days were very frightened at the sight of a dragon. And he could still smell that stinky monkey very close by. Bailong stilled himself. The moment he could smell the Scholar, he was gonna jump right out of this bag to greet his old friend.

The sound of a human motor vehicle -- what were they called again? He couldn't quite remember -- approached. "Hey, kiddo!" A voice, maybe a driver or passenger of the vehicle --car! it's called a car! --called out. "That one of your new friends there?"

"Yeah," his master called out. Perhaps Bailong should think up another thing to call him, if he was going to go back to the Scholar. "This is Wukong."

"Hi, ma'am." Stinky stinky monkey! Although, he sounded a tad nervous, like he had conversing with this boy while trying to put him back in the fountain. Did he think Bailong would give himself away? HA! Such foolishness. "I-I should probably go back to the others. You know, make sure they haven;t made a mess of things..."

As the stinky monkey and this boy-maybe-master exchanged fairwells, Bailong became very aware of the discomfort of his current position. If he just...NO! He would NOT rick revealing himself just for a minor discomfort! Besides, it felt like he was being carried closer to the car. He had never ridden in motor vehicle before! Oh, so exciting. But no moving! No moving!

The was the sound of the door to this car opening, and the bag he was in was set down on the ground. "I bet you spent most of the time hanging out with him, huh?" The voice, a woman, who was she to this boy? His mother? He did mention his mother coming to pick him up.

"Yeah, uh." It sounded like the boy had just fastened his safety strap. "He's kinda in this one club. It looks like fun." The vehicle started moving. OH BOY OH BOY!!! WOOOOOOOWEEEEEEE!

"Oooh, that sounds AWESOME!" This woman was kinda loud. "What club is it?"

"It, uh," the boy started. How is he going to explain the activities of those buffoons? Maybe he'll decide to change his mind about hiding Bailong if hiding it is too hard? "They kinda...help clean up around the school? And...take care of animals that sneak into the school! I'm not exactly sure if it's an official club..."

"Hmm..." The woman who was probably the boy's mother hummed. "Sounds tastefully rebellious! Something kinda like Breakfast Club, or LemonadeMouth!"

"Ma! Both of those groups met in detention!"

"Exactly! Tasteful rebelion!"

Bailing felt curious about this woman. He wiggled and squirmed until he poked his nose out of the opening his maybe-master left in the bag. He took a deep sniff, trying to pick out this woman's scent. Almost instantly, his nose was nudged back into the bag.

"So, how was work?" The boy said quickly. Oh, come on, he wasn't that loud, was he?

The woman, or "Ma" as the boy called her, sighed deeply. "I'm now pretty sure this one guy can't take a hint. Even with a big ass picture of my fucking family up on my desk!"

"Ma!"

"Oh, believe me, there's gonna be some cash in that swear jar if he keeps this shit up." It seems that "Ma" can have quite the foul mouth. The car dropped into silence for a few moments. "How about some music?" Ma offered. There was a small click, then suddenly, sound.

What...what was this? Music? It was very much different from how he remembered music. It sounded a bit more...artificial? Like, none of it sounded like real instruments. Were new instruments invented? Did music evolve this quickly?

"Ah, I forgot my CDs at the house," Ma commented. "I swear, this station was playing some sweet acoustic and alternative."

"It's alright." This boy seemed like just a bit of a push over. he wasn't exactly like that earlier. Maybe this was like and "looks can be deceiving" type thing?

After a few minutes, the car pulled to a stop. "Home, sweet home." Oh, now Bailong was excited again. This could be his new home! The bag he was in was lifted up. "You got any homework to do, Tripitaka?"

"A bit." The boy, Tripitaka it seems, placed a hand on the opening of the bag he left him. Bailing pressed his snout into his palm. OH! He's the "homework" isn't he? Clever!...What's homework again? No matter! They were moving now, and the Scholar could be in this house!

"We're home, Boo!" Ma boomed. Damn, she was loud! "And Tripitaka's got homework!"

"Go ahead and start working on it, Tripitaka!" Another, female, voice called from elsewhere. Bailing pushed his nose out of the bag, with Tripitaka having moved it earlier. He inhaled deeply. Still no Scholar anywhere! He could smell spices, rice, and another woman. She didn't seem to smell much like Tripitaka either, but it was hard to tell from this distance.

"Alright." Tripitaka placed his hand over the bag opening again and began ascending...stairs? Yeah! Stairs! "What's for dinner? Smells good!"

"Curry!" Came the response. "You can tell is all about today while we eat it!"

"Sounds goods!" When it felt that the ascent was complete, they continued onwards. There was the sound of a door carefully being opened. Oh boy, OH BOY! Bailing tried to stay as still as he could. The door was carefully shut behind them.

"Okay...," Tripitaka spoke quietly. "You can come out now."

Bailong instantly began to wiggle his way out through the small opening in the bag. Explore! EXPLORE! Tripitaka chuckled. "It was getting cramped in there, huh?" He kept his voice quiet, not as quiet and soft as a whisper, but not quiet normal speaking volume. Oh, oh right! Can't let the ladies in the house know he's here! Speaking of which, there was still something Bailong was curious about.

He looked around the room. Humans typically kept pictures of friends and family on display, didn't they? Not much mounted on the walls. There was that desk Tripitaka was walking towards. Bailing carefully started floating his way over. There were several pictures stuck to some board that made up the back wall space between the desk part itself and a shelf above it. He got up closer to some of the different pictures.

One picture seemed to Tripitaka but younger and with more hair. Beside him was a girl, probably around his age, with long black hair with soft waves. "That's Duan and I," Tripitaka explained. "We're... we were...best friends since preschool."

Hmmm... Interesting. Bailong investigated another one. It was a rather old woman, with an incredibly soft and cheerful smile. "That's Granny. She took Mum in after her parents kicked her out." Tripitaka laughed dryly. "I wouldn't really be here if it wasn't for that." There was something very familiar about this woman. Bailong could almost swear he had seen her somewhere...like -WAIT! THAT PICTURE!

He immediately jumped to another picture on the wall. THAT'S HIM! THERE"S THE SCHOLAR! He knows the hat! That kind smile! This kid really DID know the Scholar! "Careful!" Tripitaka carefully tried to pull Bailong a bit away from the photo. "That...that's my birth father..." Bailing looked towards him gleefully. "He died before I was born."

All of Bailong's glee drained in an instant. Dead? No, NO! It's couldn't be! Especially not for so long! Without him knowing! Bailing began to tear up. He let out a small whine. "Th-there, there!" Tripitaka gently pant the back of Bailong's head. "Did...did you know him?"

Bailong nodded his head. "Is...that why you seem so attached to me?" Bailing coiled himself gently around and up Tripitaka's arm and draped himself around his shoulders. The Scholar was gone but...his son was still here. And being raised by two wonderful women, it seemed. But...he still had problems. Bailing could sense it. There was something in his blood, in his soul, that would attract demons from far and wide. And he seemed to have a mental and emotional state that would let him fall victim more easily to them. Bailong would take care of him. If for anything, for the Scholar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Group chat shenanigans.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's in a groupchat. Now, they can discuss important matters, like where truly is the best fast food?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY PRIDE MONTH TO ALL!!! I know it's late in the month, but still. I just got back from a pride festival!

**[Fabulous_Pig has changed the chat name to Demons]**

**[Fabulous_Pig has changed the chat name to Demon Bros]**

**[Fabulous_Pig has changed the chat name to Demon Boys]**

MonkeyBoi: Can you make up your mind?

MonkeyBoi: Or maybe just, oh I don't know, NOT CHANGE IT?

Fabulous_Pig: Woah, what's got your undies in a twist?

**[Sandyman has changed the chat name to Demon BOIS]**

Fabulous_Pig: YES

MonkeyBoi: Why are you doing this now?

Fabulous_Pig: Well, Trip knows about Demon Club now

Fabulous_Pig: And I think the dragon is like his sidekick now

Sandyman: He's gonna add Tripitaka to the chat

MonkeyBoi: WAIT

**[Fabulous_Pig has added Tripitaka.T to Demon BOIS]**

Fabulous_Pig: Wait 4 wut?

MonkeyBoi: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Fabulous_Pig: What are you so worried about? You gotta cruuuuuuuuush? :3

MonkeyBoi: No

MonkeyBoi: Stop that

MonkeyBoi: We've

MonkeyBoi: Only

MonkeyBoi: Known

Fabulous_Pig: What are you doing?

MonkeyBoi: Him

MonkeyBoi: For

MonkeyBoi: Three

Sandyman: He's making sure your question isn't the first thing Tripitaka sees.

MonkeyBoi: D

MonkeyBoi: A

MonkeyBoi: Y

Fabulous_Pig: Z

MonkeyBoi: S

MonkeyBoi: No

MonkeyBoi: Stop it

Tripitaka.T: Um, hi?

Fabulous_Pig: WHICH PLACE HAS THE BEST CHICKEN NUGGETS? BURGER KING OR WENDY'S?

Tripitaka.T: Um...

MonkeyBoi: YOU CAN'T START OFF WITH THE FRICKING CHICKEN NUGGET DEBATE!

Fabulous_Pig: WHY THE FUCK NOT?

MonkeyBoi: LANGUAGE!

Sandyman: Get some popcorn. Time for a show.

Fabulous_Pig: YOU'VE CUSSED MORE THAN ME AND YOU KNOW IT!

Tripitaka.T: I don't...eat meat?

MonkeyBoi: THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T OPEN WITH CHICKEN NUGGETS!

Sandyman: Then what about sides and deserts? I'm on team #BurgerKing for the fries

MonkeyBoi: BUT THE FROSTIES

Tripitaka.T: I have a frosty key chain. For...a free junior frosty

MonkeyBoi: #TEAMWENDY'S

Fabulous_Pig: THAT IS NOT A WIN! THAT IS A DRAW!

Sandyman: I like dipping fries in frosties.

Fabulous_Pig: NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS: TRIP'S NAME

Tripitaka.T: Is...something wrong with my name?

MonkeyBoi: NO

Sandyman: He wants to give you some silly but fitting username.

[Fabulous_Pig has changed Tripitaka.T 's name to DragonKid]

DragonKid: Um...

MonkeyBoi: HE"S NOT A DRAGON HIMSELF. THE DRAGON JUST LIKES HIM FOR SOME REASON.

[Sandyman had changed DragonKid 's name to Dragon-MASTER]

Dragon-MASTER: I'd say I'm more of a beginner, though?

MonkeyBoi: GUYS JUST

[MonkeyBoi has changed Dragon-MASTER 's name to Trippy]

MonkeyBoi: THERE

MonkeyBoi: DONE

Fabulous_Pig: But it doesn't have anything to do with dragons!

Sandyman: Does it actually need to, tho?

Trippy: I...Llke it

MonkeyBoi: : )

MonkeyBoi: How is the dragon Btw?

Trippy: Well, he seems to be attached to some of the family photos in my room.

Sandyman: Hmmmm....

Fabulous_Pig: What, you know something?

Sandyman: Who, me? Hhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmm I don't know.

MonkeyBoi: Is he wrecking anything?

Trippy: He keeps trying to join me in the bath, if that counts?

Fabulous_Pig: wait

Fabulous_Pig: You use the phone in the bath?

Trippy: Water proof case?

Sandyman: Good way to read in the bath without ruining books

Fabulous_Pig: Tru

MonkeyBoi: And no other messes? Or just weird sh

MonkeyBoi: *Stuff

Fabulous_Pig: Awww You're trying so hard not to casually cuss

Trippy: Well...I think he's trying to collect all of the pictures of my dead dad?

Trippy: Insert dragon hoard joke?

Fabulous_Pig: More like dad joke

MonkeyBoi: At least he's not making a mess of shit

Sandyman: I like how that's your take away. also you just cussed

MonkyBoi: FU

Fabulous_Pig: Swear words are illegal now. If you say one you will be fined.

Sandyman: heck

Fabulous_Pig: You're on thin fucking ice.

Fabulous_Pig: *gasp* oh no

Trippy: To the swear jar with you

Fabulous_Pig: SWEAR JAR

Sandyman: Although, I feel you're unfamiliar with that meme

Trippy: Meme???

Fabulous_Pig: OH MY GOD

Fabulous_Pig: WE MUST EDUCATE YOU

Fabulous_Pig: HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW WHAT A MEME IS!?!

Trippy: I...used to not have a lot of free time

Fabulous_Pig: FEAR NOT CHILD!! NO LONGER SHALL YOU LIVE IN IGNORANCE OF THE GLORY THAT IS MEMES!

Trippy: Should...I feel concerned?

MonkeyBoi: OK

MonkeyBoi: WE CAN WAIT TO EDUCATE ON MEMES UNTIL THE WEEKEND

Fabulous_Pig: NO! THIS IS AN INJUSTICE!

MonkeyBoi: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD I AM NOT GONNA HAVE HOMEWORK AND SLEEPYTIME INTERRUPTED BY SPAMMED MEMES

Fabulous_Pig: ....you win this round....

Trippy: So...is this a club business chat or a just for fun chat?

Sandyman: Both

Sandyman: It is very much both

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Training day


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bailong seems to love the rain. If he won't partake in Training Day, then we'll just use the book. You know, THE Book.

Why did he decide to take his bike to school today? Why did the weather decide a 20% chance of rain was enough for a storm? Wukong was soaked and freezing. No, freezing wasn't quite right. He was more really, really chilly. Except for his feet, they were starting to go numb.

Wukong considers going to the library instead of the office, since it's closer. It's a shorter distance he'll have to walk in soaked numb feet. "Uh, hey!"

Wukong looks up from chaining up his bike. There's Tripitaka timidly waving and wearing this dorky rain slicker and cap. There was a different name for those wasn't there? Doesn't matter what name, because Tripitaka is standing there, waiting to be acknowledged.

"Hey." Wukong clicks the lock in place, securing his bike to some bike rack in front of the school. "Lovely weather, isn't it?" He really hopes the sarcasm can be read.

"Y-yeah." Tripitaka nervously rubs the back of his neck. "It was really a surprise. Bailing seemed to love it though."

"Is he with you now?"

"No, he flew out the window as soon as the rain started."

Of course. That dragon always caused more trouble on rainy days. Sometimes even before. They were probably gonna have to look all over town for it later.

"Sorry."

"Nah, it's fine." Wukong grabbed Tripitaka's wrist and began to lead him inside. "I'm just done with this rain today. Hope they'll let me take my shoes off in the library!"

"Do you usually go to the library in the morning?"

"Not since the fight last year." Wukong fondly reminisced on the fight. That shit head had no idea what he had gotten himself into.

"Y-you were kicked out after that?" Tripitaka sounded concerned. Fix it. FIX IT.

"The librarian was trying to kick the guy out before I stepped in. They wanted to just let me go free, but vice principal said I had to be disciplined." Wukong sighed. "Wujing said he waited outside the library with his pose for months."

"Oh..." They two fell into silence. Well, aside from the squeak of his wet sneakers on the floor. When they got to the library, Wujing was sitting at a table further back in the library, but still in view of the door. There were a few kids at another table casting nasty looks towards him. _Well, that just won't do._

"Hey, Sandy!" Wukong waved nonchalantly, casually pulling Tripitaka along behind him. The kids at the other table snapped their attention to him. Their eyes widened. _Yeah, that's right._ Wujing looked up from his book at the two.

"Well, well. Haven't seen you in the library for a while." Wujing only put his book down slightly. Wukong let go of Tripitaka's wrist and as the boy sat down at the table.

"I'd rather not walk around that much in soaked socks." Wukong sat down at the table, immediately starting to take off his shoes. Wujing handed him a package of socks from his bag. Wukong stared at it for a moment. "... _How?_ "

Wujing shrugged. "Didn't want you to complain about cold wet feet all day. You gotta check the forecast in the mornings too, you know." Wukong began to tear into the plastic wrapping, the back of his mind reminded of the almost empty plastic packaging in the bottom of his bag.

As Wukong began switching to a new pair of socks, Tripitaka attempted to make small talk. "So, uh," he started. "How has your morning been?"

Wujing shrugged. "Wet. Surprisingly quiet." Wukong glanced over to the table of teens he noticed walking in. Most of them were staring quietly at the table, but a few of them were glaring at his group. Wukong gave them a hard stare, and they turned back to their own table. Having a bad rep had it's perks.

The rest of the morning was uneventful. They paired up for a worksheet in first period. Wukong's Music class had a sub who wasn't an ass. He went through about two pairs of socks, since his shoes were still soaked and seeping through the dry socks.

"We're showing Trip the ropes today aren't we?" Bajie questioned in their third class.

"The stupid lizard decided playing in the rain would be more fun," Wukong grumbled.

"It ran off?"

Wukong nodded. "Probably gonna have to go look for it later."

Bajie shrugged. "It'll probably come back. And we've got the book, don't we?"

Wukong thought for a moment. "Kinda boring though, isn't it?"

Bajie shrugged. "He doesn't seem like he's into action anyway."

Wukong practically sprinted through the halls to meet up with Tripitaka before their next class. He didn't want the same thing from Monday to happen again. His socks were starting to feel a bit damp again. He might have to change them again after lunch.

Most of Wukong's lunch consisted mostly of things from Bajie's snack stash. Peach-mango juice box, Chocolate chunk granola bar. Tripitaka did share his carrots and celery, though, so that was nice. Wukong could tell that the boy had something he wanted to say. Maybe he wanted to ask something about Demon Club or the dragon?

Wukong thought for a moment. They shouldn't really talk that much about the club out in the open like this. Maybe...

"Hey, Wujing!" The boy gave a mumbled response from behind a mouth full of crinkle-cut fries. "Do you have...the book?"

Wujing swallowed. "Which book?"

"You know." Wukong gestured vaguely. " _The Book._ "

Bajie interjected, "Just to be clear, we're talking about _that_ book right?"

Tripitaka looked utterly confused. Poor guy.

"I'm not giving Tripitaka the book right now," Wujing said firmly. "Not when we're about to go to the hater of all enjoyable literature. Correction: All literature that isn't currently in some _stupid_ lesson plan." He pointedly stuffed his face further into his book. "We can take care of all that stuff after school anyway.

After lunch, Wukong ran to the closest bathroom to his next class. He didn't want to waste any time getting out of his blood diaper before class. As he rounded a corner, he skidded to a stop. A string of curses left his mouth under his breathe.

He matched gaze with one of those guys that always seemed to be looking for a fight with him. The guy had paused, midway through the bathroom door. The guy gave this _glare_ , this _scowling smirk_ , a _challenge_. He slowly entered the bathroom, all the awhile giving Wukong that stare.

Wukong sighed in aggravation. He can't get into another fight in the bathroom. Vice Principle Asshole was already on his case about it. "It's a _safety issue_ ," he says. "It'd be better if you just used _different_ bathrooms," he says. Honestly, screw that guy. And screw this guy looking for a fight!

Stubbornly, Wukong marched past the bathroom. He can make it through one more class. The day was close to over anyway. That guy would probably be on his way home. And if the guy hangs around after school looking for him, Wukong'll be out looking for that dragon. He'll even drag Bajie along for an alibi or something. He's just gotta make it through his next class, then he can change in gym.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: History lessons.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tripitaka finally gets to see The Book. Wujing likes to play Sherlock Holmes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap, how did I take so long to update this?

Wujing set a thick hardcover book on the desk in front of Tripitaka. "So," he pats the book, "this is The Book."

Tripitaka looks at The Book for a minute before carefully picking it up. "What...is it exactly?" The guy almost looked too scared to open the book. Although, it was pretty old, so Wujing couldn't really blame him.

"Monsters, demons, spirits, even former Club members. The students who started all this wanted some way to keep track of all the not-so-human and not-so-normal stuff." Wujing sat down in a chair he pulled up in front of the desk. "Although not all of them were good at drawing. And the handwriting! I'm surprised anyone let Wukong's sister near a pen!"

Tripitaka cautiously opened the front cover. "Who, uh, What's she like?"

"You'll probably hear from her soon enough. She likes checking in to see how we're doing." Wujing pulled out his book from his bag. He only had a few chapters left, and he forgot to bring another book to read. Maybe he could stretch it out until he got back home? He could only hope.

"How long has this been around? I mean the club?"

Wujing shrugged. "A few decades. I think it started in, like, the 60s? It's almost as old as the school." Conversation like that would help Wujing stretch out his reading at least until Wukong and Bajie came back from looking for the dragon. "The dragon's first entry is somewhere with the 70s stuff. Pretty nice handwriting on that one."

Tripitaka carefully turned the pages. He didn't have to be that careful about it. As if people capable of fighting demons wouldn't make the key to their legacy unnaturally durable. He was still pretty new, though, so Wujing would guess he wouldn't figure out everything right away. Tripitaka stopped at a page and studied it carefully. Looked like he found the dragon's entry.

Tripitaka whispered under his breath, "Guangrui Chen..." Wujing almost didn't hear it. He guessed he probably wasn't meant to hear it, so Wujing decided not to act on it.

"I think the guy that wrote the dragon's part moved somewhere to the east coast. Apparently he was supposed to come back, but he never really did."

"Hmm..."

Wujing remembered Tripitaka had said in the group chat that the dragon was pretty interested in some family photos. He figured that some relative had to be this Guangrui guy. _Something_ had to have happened to the guy for him to never come back. It couldn't have been a coincidence for Tripitaka to end up at this high school. All of it was absolutely interesting.

"Why, uh..." Tripitaka sounded very hesitant and uneasy. "Why do you think the dragon got so attached to him?"

Wujing sat up straighter in his chair and closed his book. "I have an ongoing theory about that, actually!" Wujing just _loved_ talking out his theories out loud. It helped him figure it out more and more. "So, there are people like us three that have these powers. Like, we're part demon or spirit or something. And there are people who can kinda channel that magic stuff?"

Tripitaka had a bit of a confused look on his face. Wujing needed to explain better. "Maybe it's some magic heirloom. But basically, they've all just got something that makes them connected to all this secret magic world stuff. It sounded to me like the guy had something in his blood that was maybe divine or something, and the dragon liked that kind of stuff."

Tripitaka considered that thought for a moment. Suddenly, there a **BOOMF** on the classroom window. Tripitaka jumped. Gosh, the guy was jumpy. Wujing looked over to the window to see what made the noise. It looked to be the dragon, at about half size, with his face pressed up against the window. His face actually looked pretty terrifying like that.

"Well," Wujing turned back towards Tripitaka. "Aren't you gonna open the window for him? Looks like he wants in." Wujing pulled out his phone while Tripitaka got up to figure out how to open up the window.

Sandyman: Found the dragon.

Fabulous_Pig: Weren't you guys in the classroom?

Sandyman: Yep. Just showed right up at the window

The minute Tripitaka opened the window, the dragon shrunk down to his smallest size and snaked his way into Tripitaka's sweater. Tripitaka let out a noise of surprise. He shivered. "He's...wet. An...and _cold!"_

"Well, he _was_ out in the rain." Wujing didn't really know how to further comment on the situation. He couldn't really remove the dragon from the guy's clothes. He definitely couldn't try without things getting awkward and weird. Wading couldn't offer anything to warm him up or anything. He had enough trouble keeping himself comfortably warm.

"Maybe you could train him to fight someday," Wujing suggested. He couldn't really think of any other thought to share.

"May-maybe."

Well, this conversation looked just about dead. Wujing opened his book up again and went back to reading. At this point, he'd probably make it until Wukong and Bajie got back. Tripitaka continued to look through The Book. The dragon popped it's head out of Tripitaka's collar and seemingly read along with the guy. Wujing had never seen the dragon act so much like a pet or a young and curious child.

He let out a small laugh. With that comparison, Tripitaka was like a parent, or an older sibling. It'd be weird to think of Tripitaka as a parenting type after only knowing him for, like, a week. It was too soon to share fun comments like that with him. Things might get weird and comfortable. God, Wujing couldn't wait until they all got to know Tripitaka better. He had to hold his tongue about things he was used to talking about so casually. It was too much effort trying to talk like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's about time for these boys to enjoy their weekend.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wukong and Tripitaka go for a walk through the park. They don't mind the damp, but these jerks might be a problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My goal is for this to reach 70,000 words by the end of the year.

It had been raining non-stop for the past few days. On Sunday, it finally stopped. Wukong took the chance to visit the park. His plans were to play around and climb trees. This was why he wore a sports bra instead of a binder, and why he was lounging back on a tree branch. Things were still quite a bit muddy, and large puddles flooded the walkways in certain places. Because of this, there weren't a lot of people here there.

"Wukong?"

He jumped and started falling off the side of the branch. The monkey teen managed to hook one of his legs around the branch, so he didn't fall on his face. instead, he swung and found himself looking face to face at the new kid himself, Tripitaka. "Oh, Tripitaka. Hey!" Wukong thought of how weird it must be for him to just be dangling there. His shirt was slipping up, or down, is was revealing more of his belly, and might reveal the sports bra if it keeps going. "How's it hanging?"

A sweet smile made its way across Tripitaka's face. Success! "I just...thought I'd take a walk in the park. It's not too far from my house."

"Hang on! I'll join you!" Wukong hooked his other leg around the branch and swings up to sit on the branch again. From there, he grabbed onto the branch and swooped down to hang from the branch by his hands. He let go and dropped the few inches between his feet and the ground. "I can show you a way around a lot of the huge puddles around here."

"Okay."

Wukong gently grabbed the boy's wrist, and Tripitaka let himself be guided through the park. Just as he said, there was a huge puddle taking up a huge chunk of sidewalk and some of the grass around it. The two teens stood there for a few moments as Wukong tried to figure out a way to cross without soaking their feet. "Maybe we could-"

"Sorry to ruin the date, _weirdos!"_

The shout came from behind them. Wukong felt someone shove him in his back. He managed to keep his balance, and just barely grabbed onto Tripitaka who was shoved as well. Waking turned around and glared at the one behind their near soak. It was one of those jerk faces from last year, the one with the gang he fought outside the bathroom last year. If one of them was here, the rest of those goons couldn't be too far behind. Wukong couldn’t risk Tripitaka getting caught in a fight with these guys.

"What do you want, asshole," he spat out. "Pushing us out of your way so quickly, were you eager to take a swim?" _Man, that sounded cool!_

The guy kept this stupid smirk on his face. "Just itching for some pay back!"

"Wukong..." He didn't need Tripitaka to tell him. The monkey could sense this guy's posse gathering around them. He could take them all easily by himself, but Tripitaka could get caught in the middle like this. Wukong took in his surroundings for some way to get the other boy out of this.

The bushes have too many thorns, so Tripitaka can't be thrown there without getting hurt. Maybe Wukong could scoop him up and try to dash across the puddle. No, some of these guys already have soaked enough shoes. They wouldn't care about going through another puddle. Maybe the tree? It's the best bet they had.

"Hey," he whispered to Tripitaka. "How good are you at climbing trees?"

"I-" The boy's barely said anything before Wukong threw him up into the tree branches. Considering the fact that he didn't come crashing back down, it was safe to assume he was safe for the time being. Wukong spun to dodge a punch and countered with a kick to the shins.

"You can't get the drop on me _that_ easily!" And that's when the real fight began. The seven guys lunged at him all at once. "Really?" Wukong ducked down and jumped through their feet. "Thought you guys would know better by now!" He spin-kicked one guy in the back of the knee. Seriously, what made this any different from when they did the same thing in school last year? Wait...

One guy in a cheap leather jacket pulled out a knife. This wouldn't be something they could as easily get away with at school. Still, Cheap Leather here could get the cops called on him. "Wukong!" The guy slashed with the knife, and Wukong jumped back. He'd have to remember to thank Tripitaka for that later.

Another guy grabbed at his shoulder. Wukong pulled him off and threw him at Cheap Leather. Both of them fell back and into the huge puddle. "My jacket! Ruined my _fucking_ jacket!"

"Calm down, would ya?" Wukong sighed. "It's made from some cheap fake shit anyway." He thought this would be a better fight than this. Suddenly, he was hit hard in the back by an elbow or a knee. Oh, that was probably gonna leave a bruise.

Wukong caught his balance in a crouch. He jumped to the side just barely in time to dodge a low kick. With all of this physical activity, it just might be a good thing he wore a sports bra instead of a binder. Another guy grabbed Wukong from behind in a choke hold and lifted him up in the air. Just as he began flailing his legs around, another guy got one good punch in.

Swiftly, Wukong kicked the one guy in the crotch. The one holding him received the gift of an elbow to the ribs and a fist to the teeth. The moment he landed on his feet again, Wukong threw both of them at the two guys still in the puddle and the two trying to help them up. He rubbed his nose, still kinda stinging from that one punch. Actually, his nose just might have been bleeding.

"Seven of you, and just one you have a knife?" He laughed. "You can't even use it right! Didn't even tear my shirt!" He spun and immediately punched the guy trying to sneak up on him. He throws the guy the the rest of the crew. "If you guys had any sense of self preservation, you'd run off now. Before I start actually trying."

Most of the guys were smart enough to run off. But this stupid cheap leather jacket guy, he just didn't budge no matter how hard his friend tried to pull him a away. "Dude, c'mon! It's not worth it!"

"Hell no!"

Wukong groaned. This fight was seriously boring him. "You know, it's actually bold of you to assume that the cops wouldn't be on their way by now." Now that's what finally makes the guy scared. The last of that gang of seven finally left. Wukong stretched his arms above his head. Oh yeah, that one spot on his back was pretty sore.

"Hey, Tripitaka!" Wukong called up into the tree. "It's safe enough to come down now! They're gone!" The branches rustled some, and Wukong was pretty sure he could see Tripitaka hanging from one of the branches. "You didn't get stuck up there, did you?"

"I... You..." the other boy stuttered. He very cautiously made his way down from the tree. "That guy had a _knife!_ "

"Yeah! And not a scratch on me!" Wukong gestured to himself to show his point.

Tripitaka set his feet on the ground. He seemed a bit... shaky? Nervous? Oh crap. Was he freaking out? "I... I should be getting home now."

"Oh. Sure. Do you want me to walk you out?"

"No! I, uh," Tripitaka scratched the back of his neck. "I... I can figure my way out from here on my own."

"Alright. See you at school then?"

"Yeah." The boy waved meekly as he turned to leave. "Um, bye!"

"Bye." Wukong watched him walk away for a bit. He wiped at his nose again. When he pulled his hand away, the teen spotted blood on the back of it. Oh yeah. His nose was _definitely_ bleeding. He's probably gonna be in a lot of trouble when he gets home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Alas, back to school we must go.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tripitaka is missing. WUKONG ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT HAVE A CRUSH

Wukong didn't even try texting Tripitaka after the park on Sunday. He didn't even know what he should say. What was he supposed to do, apologize for fighting off those guys? Hell no! Those jerks were looking for a fight. What kind of person doesn't fight back when threatened? Especially if a knife is involved.

Tripitaka wasn't online in the group chat that morning. It's fine. There was nothing wrong with that. Wukong wasn't even looking at his phone yet. He just focused on doing homework he forgot about in Guanyin's office. When he did check his phone, he saw a notification from the group chat.

**Sandyman:** has anyone seen Tripitaka?

So he didn't show up early that morning. That's fine! It was only the guy's second week there. They couldn't possibly already know him well enough that they'd know he always came to school that early. Why should Wukong have cared if Tripitaka was running a bit late?

First period began, and the other boy wasn't there. Not yet anyway. It's the start of his second week there. Not that Wukong was worried or anything. He just didn't want to listen to any weird gossip about Tripitaka all day. The later he was, the more rumors people would come up with. Maybe he'd get lucky and most people would forget about the new kid for a while.

Second period flew by quickly. It's evident that Bajie hadn't seen Tripitaka in his class, either. "Like, have you heard from him or anything?"

"I'm not his keeper! Why would I know more than you?"

"Well, I thought you like him." Bajie gave a sort of suggestive look. "Dare I say, you're kinda into him."

Wukong elbowed him in the ribs. No, his face was not heating up. "He's probably home sick or something. Or maybe something happened with his family. What would I know?"

Bajie laughed and held his hands up defensively. "Fine, fine. I won't ask you any more about your crush."

"IT'S ONLY BEEN A WEEK!"

That outburst had Bajie practically rolling in laughter. Seriously, what was he thinking? Wukong didn't get crushes that easily. "Look even if I did have a crush, it's not like I could just make a move right away. He said he was demi, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" Bajie scratched the back of his head. "I totally definitely remembered to look that up."

Clearly, he didn't. "Basically, it's gonna be a while of knowing me before he'll be into be like that."

"Ah, so you're just gonna silently pine in silence?"

"Dude, stop." Wukong had a feeling Bajie was not going to let this go so soon. Next class was the one he was supposed to share with Tripitaka. Again, he wasn't there at all. The monkey teen doubted he would show up in the middle of lunch. He walked up to there usual table to find that no, Bajie had not dropped the subject of this hypothetical crush.

"C'mon! You should at least have a plan of action!" Bajie talk through a mouth full of food. "You love planning shit out like that."

"I do NOT have a CRUSH!" Wukong angrily stabbed his burger with his fork. "And I am not gonna obsess over how a crush sees me again! No more of that shit!"

"You literally have a list of things you like about him." Bajie points an accusatory finger. "Remember 'smells nice?'"

"That is a step above you're usual passing crushes."

"I thought you'd help me on this, Sandman."

The red-haired teen shrugged. "I'm just saying, there's potential there." He popped another one of his french fries in his mouth.

"There's nothing there!" Wukong's face felt like it was burning. They others probably noticed, so it might not have helped his case. Wait, no! He was blushing because he was mad and frustrated! Not because he was crushing on Tripitaka. "You guys are just trying to set me up with him, aren't you?"

Wujing gave him that 'sure, we both know that isn't true' look. Bajie had an elbow resting on the table as he gave this sly smirk. "But you'd like to be set up with him, wouldn't you?"

Wukong's fork snapped in half. "I don't have a crush! If I did, I wouldn't want you trying to set us up! Not after last time!"

"That was-" Bajie stopped mid sentence. He sighed. "Alright, alright fine. I won't help with you're crush unless you ask."

"I don't-"

"I get it. I get it."

"By the way, have either of heard anything from Tripitaka?" Wujing asked. "I tried texting him last night and this morning. I haven't actually heard from him since Friday."

"Yeah, he was quiet all weekend."

"He looked fine when I saw him yesterday." He fully expected Bajie's suggestive look. "No, not a date. A couple of guys tried to get the jump on us, but I took care of it." Wukong separated the broken pieces of his fork from his food. "They went running one way, and Tripitaka went walking home the other."

"Wait, you don't think someone got to him do you?"

"No. Those guys were scared shitless." He sighed and used the pronged half of his broken fork to pick at his food. "Maybe I scared him off? I remember him looking pretty shaken up."

Bajie hummed in thought. "What did you say when you texted him later?"

"I... didn't text him. Like, at all."

Wujing closed his book with an audible snap. "Let me see if I'm hearing this right," He began. "You two were attacked. Afterwards, not only did you let him walk home alone, but you didn't even text or call to make sure he got home safe?"

"Well, I..." Wujing's cold stare actually threw him off. Wukong was stuttering. "What was I supposed to say?"

Wujing let it an aggravated sigh. "God, you are just too much of a pan disaster. You need to text him the moment you get the chance."

"But-" He did't get the chance to complete that thought before lunch ended and all of the students are ushered out. It was to late to ask if he made it home safe yesterday. It'd be way too awkward at this point. Wukong probably thought too hard about it throughout his next class. Maybe he could just ask about Tripitaka not being at school today.

Wukong found a way to seek his phone into the gym bathroom before he had to change. He took a minute to type out a message to the boy.

**Me:** Hey, noticed you weren't at school. Hope you aren't dead.

Wukong put his phone away. There. Text sent. Now he could keep it out of his mind until PE was over. It was completely turned off and shoved into the bottom of his bag. It wasn't turned on again until he got ready to ride his bike back home. No new messages.

Huh. Maybe Wukong should send another text? No, it hadn't been all that long. He could wait until he got back home. The phone buzzed twice in his pocket during the ride anyway, so it really was nothing to worry about. He pulled the phone back out as he walked the bike into the garage.

**Tripitaka:** sorry

> was sick

Well, that should have been it, right? It should. But something still didn't sit right with Wukong. Tripitaka didn't need to a apologize. Wukong seemed more of the one needing to apologize.

**Me:** It's no problem really

> Sorry if yesterday freaked you out
> 
> Promise I don't spend my weekend fighting off gangs of dudes.

It took several minutes for Tripitaka to text back.

**Tripitaka:** it fine

> see you tomorrow

That was at least reassuring. They'd see each other tomorrow. Wukong actually smiled at the thought.

**Me:** See you then! Feel better soon!

Yep! He definitely did NOT have a crush on this guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Friendship bracelets


End file.
